title: Nuchal translucency and cardiac abnormalities in euploid singleton pregnancies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate different cut-off levels of nuchal translucency (NT) to predict abnormal cardiac findings (ACF) in second trimester ultrasound examination and confirmed postnatal congenital heart defects (CHD) in euploid pregnancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was performed on singleton pregnancies examined in our ultrasound units from 2006 to 2011. Fetuses with an abnormal karyotype were excluded. Different cut-off levels of NT thickness were analyzed to evaluate its performance to detect the ACF on second trimester ultrasound (2nd US) examination and also the CHD detected in neonatal follow-up evaluation of ACF cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 12,840 cases, a total number of 8541 euploid pregnancies were included in the study. Thirty-three had ACFs detected by 2nd US (3.86/1000). The mean NT thickness was found to be higher in fetuses with ACFs (p < 0.0001). Of 33 ACFs, 17 (52%, 1.99/1000) had major CHDs in neonatal follow-up. The area under the ROC curves for NT thickness to predict ACFs and CHDs were 0.67 and 0.65, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher NT thickness is associated with higher risk of ACF. NT is a weak predictor of ACF and major CHD; however, fetuses with an unexplained increase in NT measurement should be referred for further cardiac investigations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Connecticut Health Center , Farmington, CT , USA .
authors.forename: Alireza A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Shamshirsaz
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Salmanian
authors.forename: Samadh F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Ravangard
authors.forename: Amirhoushang A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Shamshirsaz
authors.forename: Pouya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Javadian
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borgida
authors.forename: Garry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spiel
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Benn
authors.forename: Winston A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Campbell
mesh_terms: D000025:Abortion, Eugenic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D059785:Karyotype; D048208:Nuchal Translucency Measurement / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data